I Became the Protoss Lord?

That night, in a hidden natural cave, Shen Jun sat before a fire, roasting meat.

That was right—the meat of a Sabertooth Tiger. Not long after Shen Jun cut open its belly, it died. Shen Jun, who disliked killing, observed a second of silence for it before tearing off several pounds of meat and bringing it back to the cave where he had hidden for the past three days.

Although the cave was close by, Shen Jun still used the method Rohana had taught him, gathering psionic energy in his legs and racing back at top speed. He did not know whether the bloody scent of the meat would attract more Alien Beasts, but it never hurt to be careful.

Before entering the cave, he even deliberately washed the blood off the meat before finally relaxing.

Soon, the Sabertooth Tiger meat—Shen Jun had no idea what this thing was actually called, so he simply called it that—was done roasting. As he ate, Shen Jun communicated with Rohana.

"Rohana, how did you end up being copied into a Purifier? You were the Protoss's last remaining Highest Protector. You should have had plenty of protection, right? You shouldn't have died in battle."

The Protoss were the strongest civilization in the StarCraft universe. Not only did they possess highly advanced technology, but they also wielded a supernatural power known as psionic energy. Rohana was an ancient being from the Protoss civilization's Golden Age, the height of its development.

As a Protector, Rohana had been sealed away alongside the Spear of Adun, the pinnacle of Protoss technology. She would only emerge when the Protoss faced utter destruction, as was the case with Amon's resurrection in the original story.

Rohana's memories contained nearly all the knowledge of the Protoss race, along with the course of its development over thousands of years. When it came to the Protoss, there was almost nothing she did not know.

And what were Purifiers? Put nicely, they were said to restore the glory of the great Templar. In reality, they were mechanical clones—discriminated against and potentially controllable by technologically superior enemies.

The young Hierarch Artanis, the Protoss's current leader, would never have allowed Rohana to be copied.

That made "Rohana's" words highly suspicious.

"Amon returned. He had become far stronger than before, even surpassing the level of the Xel'naga. Not even Kerrigan was his match... The star systems burned, the stars dimmed, humanity and the Zerg perished one after another, and then came the Protoss. The universe was on the verge of destruction!"

"Amon brought the Void..."

Although Rohana was an Overmind, she had not lost her emotions. Recalling that terrifying experience, her voice could not help trembling.

"Amon destroyed the universe? Then this place..."

"We are no longer in that universe. To preserve the embers of civilization, the Hierarch decided to copy me... Protector Rohana, into an Overmind, and flee to another universe with all the databases of the Protoss, humans, and Zerg. That universe is here."

"When Amon returned, Kerrigan went to intercept him immediately. Though she failed, Amon's power had not yet reached its peak at the time. Kerrigan still wounded him severely, buying us enough time for our plan."

After hearing Rohana's account, Shen Jun's eyes practically popped out. Was Amon really that badass? Wait, then what was going on with him?

"Rohana, I am saddened by the fall of your universe. But how did I come to this universe?"

"Our revival requires both an escort and a wise leader. I am merely an assistant, so while crossing the universes, I chose you."

"Why me? And I'm not even a Protoss."

Shen Jun was not dazed by this windfall. The leadership of the Protoss was not something one could take so easily.

"Because of your potential. Your innate psionic talent exceeds my understanding. No one has ever been able to make preliminary use of psionic energy in mere minutes, not even Kerrigan."

"Although your upper limit of psionic energy is not as immense as Kerrigan's, your control is unprecedented. Your future is limitless."

That was what Rohana said.

Shen Jun did not know whether to believe her, but thinking about it, he really had not found controlling psionic energy difficult at all. It seemed he truly was a genius. Shen Jun secretly rejoiced to himself.

He began imagining himself piloting the Spear of Adun and leading the Golden Armada across the universe.

"Then, Rohana, how are we supposed to revive the Protoss? I can't exactly give birth to Protoss by myself."

Fantasy had to return to reality eventually. Shen Jun wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth and continued asking.

"Before Kerrigan died, she gave all her Biological Essence to me. Empowered by the divine power of the Xel'naga, I underwent a wondrous transformation and became capable of many incredible things."

"As long as sufficient energy is provided, I can directly warp Protoss structures over from another universe, and those structures will operate automatically. Warping in a Crystal Tower will also include adult Protoss. Each Crystal Tower can carry two hundred Protoss, with their professions chosen at random. They may be Khalai engineers or Templar."

"Our universe is on the brink of collapse. Warping can only be carried out before it is completely annihilated, so we do not have much time."

"To make it easier for you to understand, I have turned it into a panel."

As soon as Rohana finished speaking, a blue translucent panel appeared before Shen Jun. It was packed with Protoss structures. He recognized only a small portion of them; even more were buildings that did not exist in the game.

The upper-right corner of the panel displayed the energy reserves: the familiar Crystal Minerals and Vespene Gas, at 1,000 and 800 respectively.

Shen Jun noticed that most of the buildings on the panel were gray and unavailable for selection. Only the Protoss Nexus, Crystal Tower, Housing Cluster, and Medical Center were lit up.

Housing Clusters and Medical Centers did not exist in the game, but they were essential in reality, and they were not expensive to build.

The Protoss Nexus cost had not changed: 400 Crystal Minerals. Housing Clusters were quite cheap; housing two hundred Protoss required only 150 Crystal Minerals and 100 Vespene Gas. A Medical Center cost 150 Crystal Minerals and 200 Vespene Gas and could treat fifty Protoss at once.

The price of a Crystal Tower, however, had risen dramatically. What had originally required only one hundred minerals now required 800 Crystal Minerals and 400 Vespene Gas.

Shen Jun was troubled. His starting funds were so limited that they were not enough for anything. Should he choose a Crystal Tower or a Protoss Nexus?

If he warped in a Nexus, the remaining resources would not be enough to warp in a Crystal Tower, making the Housing Cluster and Medical Center utterly pointless. But if he warped in a Crystal Tower, he would have no Nexus. He would be unable to produce Probes and thus unable to mine minerals or collect gas.

Suddenly, Shen Jun noticed another energy value in the upper-left corner of the panel: Biological Essence: 500.

"Rohana, what is Biological Essence?"

"As the name suggests, Biological Essence is the concentrated energy extracted from dead creatures. Every 10 units of Biological Essence are equivalent to 1 Crystal Mineral and 1 Vespene Gas."

Shen Jun understood. These five hundred points must have been extracted from that Sabertooth Tiger. They were equivalent to fifty minerals and fifty gas. He had not expected it to be so valuable.

With that, Shen Jun made up his mind.

Early the next morning, Shen Jun swaggered out of the cave. He had meditated all night to cultivate his psionic energy, and not only was he not tired, he was brimming with energy.

Based on his observations over the previous few days, the giant Sabertooth Tigers were practically at the top of the food chain in this jungle. Tentacle Beasts—four-limbed monsters, a name Shen Jun had come up with—ranked only below the Sabertooth Tigers.

And yesterday, he had killed a Sabertooth Tiger. Which meant...

In this jungle, he could strut around like he owned the place!